Theopolis Waters

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) hogs gained Monday, driven by futures’ discount to the exchange’s cash hog index which was at US104.23 cents, traders and analysts said. CME July hogs settled up 1.2 cent per pound, to 100.95 cents. It marked a new contract high of 101.8 cents in after-hours trading (all figures US$). August settled […] Read more

The flow of young cattle into U.S. feedlots dropped by a smaller-than-expected two per cent last month, according to a government report on Friday — a decline that analysts attributed to higher feed costs that discouraged fattening cattle for slaughter. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday reported May placements at 2.049 million head, down […] Read more

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle rallied, driven in part by positioning ahead of Friday’s U.S. Department of Agriculture monthly cattle-on-feed report, traders and analysts said. Analysts expect the report to show fewer cattle placed in feedlots in May as feed costs rose and grazing land improved. USDA will simultaneously issue its monthly cold storage […] Read more

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed lower on Thursday on selling fueled by the stock market’s sharp drop, which was caused by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s intention to curb its fiscal stimulus, analysts and traders said. Funds and investors with assets in equities also took money out of a wide spectrum of commodity classes […] Read more

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle rallied on Wednesday with the rise fuelled by higher CME hogs and Chicago Board of Trade corn futures, traders and analysts said. They said soaring wholesale pork prices may cause grocers to feature more beef for backyard cookouts on the U.S. Independence Day holiday. They added that cattle and […] Read more

Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures rose on Tuesday with U.S. supermarkets buying pork for July 4 holiday demand, traders and analysts said. Tuesday morning’s mandatory wholesale pork price report, or cutout, calculated on a plant-delivered basis, was at $105.79 per hundredweight (cwt), up $1.90 from Monday (all figures US$). Tuesday’s pork price was the highest […] Read more

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures rose on Monday driven in part by a five-year high in weekly U.S. beef exports, traders and analysts said. The turnaround in wholesale beef values on Monday also contributed to futures’ gains, they said. U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday reported last week’s beef exports at roughly 27,000 […] Read more

Aside from spot-June Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures, remaining contracts fell on profit taking, traders and analysts reported Friday. Most hog contracts slid despite higher cash hog and wholesale pork prices. “Packers couldn’t seem to get enough hogs around them because of seasonally tighter-than-expected supplies,” a trader said. Government data showed the average hog price […] Read more

Aside from spot-June Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures, other contracts on Thursday sagged on profit taking following an 11-day winning streak, traders and analysts said. Slipping wholesale pork prices and unprofitable packer operating margins suggest CME hogs are close to topping out in the near term, they said. Thursday afternoon’s mandatory wholesale pork price data, […] Read more

Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures on Wednesday notched their third straight day of hitting a two-year high, with planned U.S. July Fourth holiday cookouts boosting pork prices, traders and analysts said. And, they said, consumers are switching from expensive beef to relatively less-costly pork. Wednesday morning’s mandatory wholesale pork price data, or cutout, calculated on […] Read more